Tony Bennett, one of the most beloved and recognizable voices in American popular music history, died Friday at age 96, less than two weeks before his birthday, his publicist said in a statement.
Bennett died in his hometown of New York, publicist Sylvia Weiner said. A cause was not immediately revealed.
Bennett provided the soundtrack to generations of romantic evenings and proved that his timeless style of standards could have broad and consistent appeal as the music industry changed with the rise of rock and rap.
In recent years, even as her velvety voice found support with a new generation, she secretly struggled with a cognitive disorder. On February 1, 2021, her family revealed in AARP magazine that Bennett had been battling Alzheimer’s for the past five years – even though he still managed to record more music.
“Life is a gift, even with Alzheimer’sBennett’s official account tweeted at the time.
And what a gift it was: the life and career of Bennett, a World War II veteran and a civil rights activisthe might provide fodder for several biopics, but his most enduring legacy is likely his unique vocal style, which made him a superstar in the 1950s and helped him enjoy a remarkable second act for the last 25 years of his life.
“The way we throw away music all the time, and art and (past) decades all the time, like they’re outdated, being nostalgic is for geeks, it’s painful,” Bennett’s friend and frequent collaborator. ladygaga said in 2015. “Much of the music that has been featured through the Great American Songbook, through Fred Astaire, is passed down through generations of men and women, and Tony is one of those men.”
Born Anthony Bennedetto on August 3, 1926 in Astoria, Queens, Tony Bennett got his start in music after studying voice at the American Theater Wing. It was reported that he was discovered by the legendary African-American singer Pearl Bailey, who hired him to open for her in 1949.
A year later, Bennett began to make her own mark, signing with Columbia Records and singing hits like “Rags to Riches” and “Because of You.” His signature hit, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” came in 1962 as a B-side that launched him onto the A-list.
The songs effectively spanned the worlds of pop and jazz while garnering critical acclaim: Bennett won the 1962 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Solo Vocal Performance.
The statuettes would prove to be the first of 18 Grammy Awards during his seven-decade career.
Perhaps because of his close connection to jazz musicians, including Duke Ellington and Count Basie, Bennett also threw himself into the civil rights movement of the day. He was recruited by actor Harry Belafonte for Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1965 march from Selma, Alabama, a career risk for him at a time when his audience was predominantly white.
“I said no, I’m getting away from all this,” Bennett told CNN in 2013. “This is crazy. He is so ignorant. But then he told me what happened, what happened, how some blacks got burned, they poured gasoline on them and they burned. When I heard that, I said, ‘I’ll go with you.’ You know, I just realized that this is crazy.”
As popular music evolved, Bennett’s style fell out of fashion. And while fans praised some of her work in the late ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, audiences pushed back. During this dark period, Bennett became heavily involved in drugs.
“I used to take pills – uppies, downies and sleepies,” she said. wrote in his 2011 autobiography. “I was in a completely self-destructive nosedive.”
And yet, Bennett survived and kicked his drug addiction. She would emerge triumphant in the ’90s, completing one of those most impressive comebacks in music history. He was embraced wholeheartedly by the MTV generation (recording duets with younger pop stars), and his 1994 set “Unplugged” for the network took home the Grammy for album of the year.
“It wasn’t a surprise at all,” Bennett said. the independent in 2011. “And I’ll tell you why. Good music is good music. I don’t care if someone listening to me is old or young. In fact, in many ways, I am not interested in young people at all. I am interested in age. People learn to live properly when they are of an age, you know?
“The late Duke Ellington once told me that he was really offended by the word ‘category,’” he added. “Music has no category; it’s good or it’s not, and I sing good songs, great songs, written by the best songwriters. It’s that kind of quality that makes them last. Trust me, people will sing these songs forever.”
Between recording sessions and concerts, Bennett showed that he also had a talent for the visual arts. Paintings of him, painted with his birth name, have been exhibited at the Smithsonian and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Bennett is survived by his wife of 2007, Susan Crow, and four children, including Antonia Bennett, who has become an accomplished standards singer in her own right.
